Killer Car Chases... "Baby Driver"

Baby Driver (2017)

Rated R

Starring Ansel Elgort, Lily James, Kevin Spacey, Jon Bernthal, Jon Hamm, Eliza Gonzalez, Jamie Foxx,

Written and Directed by Edgar Wright

The Story:

Baby (Elgort) is the getaway driver for a crime boss (Spacey). He's trying to work his way out of debt, one job at a time, hoping to buy his freedom. But when his girl (James) needs medical attention, Baby's got to go back to the one thing he was good at. Maybe with one more job, he'll finally be free, and can be with his true love again. Of course nothing can be that easy, right?

I love a good heist film, possibly more than many others do.

However, Baby Driver and I never really clicked.

Perhaps I listened to all of the other critical hype that made this out to be a cinematic masterpiece.

Meh.

:)

It was alright.

You know how in most movies, during a certain scene they'll give you a killer soundtrack to lay over the action?

Imagine that is done with every scene of the film, for 90 minutes.

Granted, yes, there are breathers in between the musical interludes, but that seemed to be the selling point of this movie:

We will make an action film that every action scene will have a cool song attached to it. We'll also do the same for much of the narrative as well.

Gotcha.

Now, don't get me wrong: the car chase scenes in this film are phenomenal.

However, once everyone is out of the car... that's when the attention begins to wane.

Or more specifically, when the supporting cast isn't featured, and it's just Baby and Debora.

Sorry,  again, just calling it like I saw it.

I also will not be one of the cool kids in the corner that's conflicted over this movie because Kevin Spacey is in it.

Kevin Spacey the actor is, was, and always will be, amazing.

Kevin Spacey the human being, he's got some problems.

I figure if I'm not going to overly praise a critical darling, I may as well go all in with my review.

:)

Final Grade: B-

Locked And Loaded..."The Punisher"

The Punisher (2017)

TV-MA

Starring Jon Bernthal, Amber Rose Revah, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ben Barnes, Jaime Ray Newman, Deborah Ann Woll,

Created by Steve Lightfoot

The Story:

The world thinks Frank Castle (Bernthal) is dead. However Agent Madani (Revah) believes he might be alive and well, and back to racking up the body count in New York City.

You know, after watching this one, it wasn't nearly as violent and bullet-riddled as I thought they would make it.

Sure, it was still worthy of a series starring Marvel's biggest vigilante.

But there was a lot of new characters introduced in the series, and aside from Karen Page (Woll) it opens up a whole new section of the Marvel Universe on Netflix.

Sadly, it will also be the last new series that makes it to Netflix since Disney is starting up their own streaming service in a few years.

Still, we'll take what we can get, and Bernthal, who was the best part of Daredevil Season 2, brings Frank Castle to life.

We get to relive Frank's tortured backstory as it slowly unfolds and we find out who killed his family and why.

As with all of the 14 episode Netflix series, it's a bit padded with juggling side stories from the new characters.

That said, it's one of the best Marvel series on Netflix.

Give it a whirl and judge for yourself.

Final Grade: B+

Don't Mess With "The Accountant"

The Accountant (2016)

Rated R

Starring Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, John Lithgow,

Directed by Gavin O'Connor

The Story:

Christian Wolff (Affleck) is a savant with an amazing knack for numbers. His services are so well regarded, many illicit organizations have used him to fix their books, so to speak. However, with the criminal task force closing in, he accepts a more legitimate client to lay low for awhile, yet it may be his most duplicitous account yet.

And did I fail to mention that Wolff is also like a deadly assassin as well?

And there you have a premise to a movie that might sound silly on paper, but plays out really well on screen.

Surrounded by a great supporting cast, including Simmons as the lead agent on the task force who is one step away from retirement, and hoping he can catch Wolff, or at least train his replacement before it's too late.

Other than that, I'm not going to give anything else away at the risk of taking any twists and turns away from this action thriller.

Great cast. Interesting premise. Well done by all involved.

Final Grade:  B  / B+ range

The Universe Expands..."Daredevil: Season 2"

Daredevil: Season 2 (2016)

TV-MA

Starring Charlie Cox, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Royce Johnson, Jon Bernthal, Elodie Yung, Scott Glenn

Created by Drew Goddard

The Story:

With Wilson Fisk (D'Onofrio) behind bars, you would think life in Hell's Kitchen would slow down. However, there's a new crazy in town, killing bad guys and making a name for himself as The Punisher (Bernthal). Matt (Cox) will have to suit up as Daredevil to try and bring him down before the entire city is bathed in blood. If that wasn't going to be difficult enough, there's another blast from Matt's past just around the corner as Elektra (Yung) comes calling.

Another solid season in the books for Netflix and Marvel.

While there is still some pacing issues that feel like 8-10 solid episodes drag out to 12, it's a bit better this go-round.

I'd even go so far as to say the first 4 episodes are must-see, dynamic storytelling at its finest.

There is a beginning, middle and end to the story that flows just like a perfect comic book story arc.

The problem, once Elektra arrives on the scene, I began to lose interest.

Truth be told, I was never really a fan, and I think I mentioned before that I've never truly cared for Daredevil.

The focus in the storyline shifts, and takes away from the entire Punisher storyline.

I was greatly disappointed that the trial, which could have been 4 riveting episodes on their own felt rushed and shortchanged.

Foggy (Henson) is being criminally underused in the series when he is the glue that holds the show together.

They could have easily worked the trial for 4 episodes, and then put the final 4 episodes on Castle in prison doing what he needs to do to survive and get close to Fisk.

Then you end the season by getting Frank out of jail which leaves the rest of the Elektra story for season 3, and continue Frank's tale in his own series, which thankfully is going to happen.

I'm still not the biggest fan of Karen Page (Woll) but making her a journalist is a great change of pace and one that shakes up the dynamic.

Much like Jessica Jones, I'm really more interested in the supporting cast than the main character.

Because when you pull back from the show and judge it from a distance, Matt Murdock is possibly the biggest jerk in the Marvel Universe right now.

He does what he wants, when he wants to, consequences and friendships be damned.

Plus, I'm willing to suspend belief on what Daredevil can do.

But when he becomes the ultimate super-ninja of all time...

Yeah, I hated that in the comics and it drives me batty on this show as well.

So critical of a show I can't wait to see Season 3 from, right?

:)

Final Grade: A-

The "Fury" Of War

Fury (2014)

Rated R

Starring Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Michael Pena, Logan Lerman, Jon Bernthal

Written and Directed by David Ayer

The Story:

Army Sergeant "Wardaddy" (Pitt) takes his Sherman tank and his crew deep into the heart of Nazi Germany during the end of World War II on a daring mission.  Everyone dies.

The end.

This is one of the most disappointing war films I've seen in quite some time.

It's bloody.
It's violent.
It's...

boring.

Didn't care for this one in the least.

At least Saving Private Ryan had interesting characters to care about as they were picked off one by one.

This one, you knew they were pretty much all cannon fodder early on, and they just drug it out to the end of the film.

They kill lots and lots of people along the way, but after awhile, even killing Nazis gets old.

That's a sentence that I never imagined typing.

I expected more. Or better. Or something.

Maybe next time.

Final Grade: C-